Breast cancer is a family affair. Sure, only one member will have to undergo chemo, radiation therapy, and a mastectomy, but the fear and financial hardship are felt by all. May is the month of Mother's Day where we celebrate the amazing woman who gave us life and filled that life with so many moments of support and tender care.

This month we want recognize that cancer has many indirect affects on children. Thanks to your generous donations, we were able to award seven grants to women in active breast cancer treatment in April and May. Five of the women have children (one with disabilities). Though most of the children are adults, the financial hardship faced by a parent could easily affect them. Children may feel obligated to put their own lives on hold to move back home to take care of Mom. Others may need to provide financial help even as they are working to keep up with their own bills. One of our grantees has a child in college. Imagine how difficult it would be to study for finals knowing your mother might soon lose her home?

Your generous donations don't just change the life of a woman in the San Diego community. You also help her children, her spouse, and all those who depend on her! One great example of this is Cristina, who is in treatment for Stage II breast cancer even as she cares for her autistic teenage daughter by herself. Read Cristina's story below and find out how our most recent fundraising events went.

"I am afraid I will fall extremely behind and hurt my credit and/or lose my house in the process." Cristina

Grantee Spotlight: Cristina

Cristina's life was far from easy even before she discovered a lump beneath her arm. The middle school math teacher is a single mother of an autistic teenage daughter who also suffers from epilepsy and severe allergies.

Life got tougher for Cristina when doctors informed her that she had two different types of breast cancer. Since her diagnosis, the math teacher has faced a bilateral mastectomy and lymphadenectomy, followed by six rounds of chemo.

Though Cristina receives disability, her paycheck is docked each day her school must pay a substitute teacher to take her place. The penalty for missing work is more than what she receives in disability, creating a net loss for every day that she is out of work. As is so often the case when breast cancer enters the picture, Cristina just couldn't make the numbers add up.

To make the equation even more difficult is that fact that Cristina must also find a way to cover the significant medical expenses for her daughter, who suffered another seizure during Cristina's treatment.

At SOPFCA we wanted to change the calculation in Cristina's favor. We are so thankful that we can add some positive numbers to Cristina's financial situation with the help of our amazing donor network.

Each one of our successful fundraising events wouldn't be possible without our great volunteers, vendors who provide discounted or free services, and YOU!

Here is just a short list of all the people who have made such a huge difference to our organization.

Purse Bingo Thank Yous

Pedal to the Medal

Kristin Evens of Comprehensive Therapy

Carol Replogle of About Face Esthetics

Brianna Stanton of Image Spa MD

Lauren Lusk-Bost of Local Beach

Gayle Fulbright and David Linde of Headlines The Salon

Linda Conover of Leucadia Pizza

Skip and Maureen Coomber of Coomber Family Ranch Wines

Susan Sbicca of Millie's Gelato

Denise Arand

Kris Quart

Brittni Gallucci

Sue Foote

Spring Soiree Thank Yous

Gayle Fulbright and David Linde of Headlines The Salon

Brick Boyette

Oribe Haircare

Sara Peltier

DJ Steevie Wild

Justine Pierret

BMW Encinitas

Image Spa MD

Eliza Friedman Jewelry

Swirl Boutique

How to Support SOPFCA

Hope Partners

Monthly Giving

If you want to step up your donation game right here, right now, then make the commitment to give each month. Through Hope Partners, you can sign up online to make an automatic monthly donation from as little as $25 a month ($0.83 a day) to $75 a month ($2.50 a day) or choose your own amount.

If you want to honor someone close to you who battled breast canceryou can always make a one-time donation to SOPFCA in any amount you like.

Amazon Smile

If Amazon has become your go-to everything store, then support SOPFCA just by purchasing all the things already on your shopping list. Visit Amazon through our
Amazon Smile Link, and the company will donate 0.5% of all your purchases to our organization. Bookmark our link to make it automatic.

Volunteer

You don't have to open your wallet to make a big difference to our organization. We are ALWAYS looking for volunteers to help us make connections with the community, set up fundraising events, and tons of other tasks that come with operating a nonprofit. If you want to take the next step from donor to participant, please give us a call at (858) 356-4204 and we will find a way to use your talents.

With some of the hottest high-end handbags of the season up for grabs, the stakes were high. Our competitors grabbed their cards, and then it was Bingo time!

Our second annual Purse Bingo fundraiser blew our previous records out of the water. Over 50 players tried their luck, and Shane Farmer, our excellent MC, kept the game lively and fun.

The event took place at Headlines The Salon in Encinitas, which transformed its salon into a Bingo game room.

At the end of the day, many of our guests walked away with gorgeous new handbags on their arms, and
Shades of Pink Foundation California raised $3,500.

This money will allow us to continue handing out our larger grants, which has been truly life-changing for our grantees.

We have so many people we'd like to thank for supporting this event and our organization. Please take a moment to read the list on the left of all the people who made this event a resounding success.

This Fashion Fundraiser Buttoned Up a Significant Donation

On Thursday, March 23rd, Headlines The Salon set out to help us all get fashion forward...for a good cause. The Encinitas-based salon, owned by Gayle Fulbright and David Linde, hosted a Spring Soiree, with proceeds going to Shades of Pink Foundation California.

Guests sipped tasty vodka drinks, munched on tantalizing appetizers, and bid on over 20 baskets up for grabs in a silent auction. Next up was a fashion show of spring styles orchestrated by Swirl Boutique. Those models looked extra gorgeous with their locks styled expertly by the team from Headlines.

When all was said and done, we were filled with amazing appetizers and new fashion ideas. Double win! Make that a triple win, because the event also collected over $1,500 for SOPFCA.

Check out the column to the left to see all the amazing people we'd like to thank.

Don't Underestimate theReach of Social Media

Your social media channels are your connection to a wide network of friends, family members, co-workers, and neighbors. Sure, it's a great place to share pictures of last night's dinner or to humble-brag about your awesome weekend workout, but it can also be a microphone for a great cause.

If you believe in Shades of Pink Foundation California, then let your network know! Help us grow our visibility by posting about our events, sharing the stories of our grant recipients, and proudly sharing the fact that you support us.

Even just a single post of Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or your social platform of choice can introduce us to hundreds or even thousands of new people!

If you haven't followed us on Facebook already, please do. This is how you will get the latest and greatest news of our organization. Just click the Facebook icon below to join our page.